Coil winding device



July 9, 1963 R. H. PETTY 3,096,809

con. WINDING DEVICE Filed June 20, 1960 INVENTOR. Robert H. Pefiy AgentUnited States Patent 3,096,809 CQIL WINDING DEVICE Robert H. Petty, LasVegas, Nev., assignor to Titanium Metals Corporation of America, NewYork, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed June 20, 1960, Ser. No.37,413 Claims. (Cl. 153-67) This invention relates to a coil windingdevice and more particularly to a device for winding uniform coils ofwire of pre-deterrnined length.

Small coils of wire of pre-determined length are often used in variousanalytical procedures. In such applications the wire itself may enterinto some chemical reaction and it is often desirable to control theamount of metal of which the wire is fabricated by winding a coil ofpredetermined length of such wire. A need exists for a device which willproduce uniform coils rapidly and efliciently for such purposes.

It is therefore a principal object of this invention to provide animproved coil winding device. Another object of this invention is toprovide a coil winding device capable of producing coils of wire ofpre-determined length. Another object of this invention is to provide adevice useful for producing uniform wire coils. Another object of thisinvention is to provide a coil winding device particularly adapted forproducing coils of wire used in analytical procedures. These and otherobjects of this invention will be apparent from the followingdescription thereof and from the annexed drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a general top view of a device embodying features of thisinvention.

FIG. 2 shows a vertical section of the device of FIG. 1 taken along theline 2-2.

FIG. 3 shows a side view of the wire guide and cutter as seen from themandrel side.

FIG. 4 shows a detailed view, somewhat enlarged, of the portion of thedevice from which the finished coil is ejected after winding.

Referring now particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, the coil winding devicecomprises a base 16 on which is rotatably mounted a m andrel 12. Themounting comprises pedestal 14 attached to base and in which is fixedhorizontal tube member 16. Mandrel 12 is fixedly attached as by bolt 18to handle wheel 20 by means of which it may be rotated, the extendingstub shaft 22 of hand wheel 20 being journaled in the end of tube member16 as shown. Stub shaft 22 is restrained from longitudinal movement intube member 16 by provision of slot 24 around its circumference in whichis engaged the end of pin bolt 26 threaded into a top portion ofpedestal 14. The end of mandrel 12 is provided with a slot 26 of size toreceive the end of a length of wire to be coiled.

Slidably mounted on mandrel 12 and biased toward the slotted end thereofby spring 28 is tubular follower 30. The end of follower 30 which isinside tube member 16 is provided with a shoulder as at 32 and whenfollower 30 is extended fully toward the slotted end of mandrel 12, aswill be more clearly seen in FIG. 4, this shoulder 32 will abut acorresponding shoulder 34 in tube member '16. The end of follower 36 isformed as a portion of reduced outside diameter as at 36. V

Hand wheel 20 is provided with a suitable handle 38 3,096,809 Patentedduty 9, 1963 flee and is also provided with one element, as indentedmember 40, of a click-stop, the other element being shown as round endbolt 42 threaded through pedestal 14. Preferably the end of bolt 42 isarranged to engage the indentation in member 40 at a position so thatthe mandrel 12 will be stopped with an open end of slot 26 facing orpointing toward the wire guide means described hereinafter. Theclick-stop formed by bolt 42 and indented member 40 may also provide anaudible indication of the completion of a revolution or revolutions ofhand wheel 2t} and mandrel 12, thus providing an indication, byreference to mandrel diameter and slot length of wire coiled.

Slidably and rotatably mounted, also on base 16, is shaft 44 which isjournaled through a pedestal 46 which is fixedly attached to base 10.Shaft 44 is limited in its sliding and rotating movement by provision inits surface of L-shaped slot 48 which is engaged by the end of pin bolt50 threaded through a top portion of pedestal 46 as shown. Fixedlymounted on shaft 44 is coil cover guide 49 which is formed as a tubesegment, preferably semi-circular. Thumb wheel 52 is attached to theouter end of shaft 44 for convenient actuation thereof. When shaft 44 ispushed toward mandrel 12 and rotated so that pin bolt 50 is at the endof the circumferential leg of slot 48, end face 54 of shaft 44 will abutand be thus locked against the end of mandrel 12 and will thereby closethe open side of slot 26. Coil cover guide 49 is aflixed to the end ofshaft 44 so that when the face 54 is locked against mandrel 12, as justdescribed, it will overlay mandrel 12 on the side remote from the wireguide means, which, as seen in FIG. 3, comprises guide bore 56 through apedestal 58, which is in turn attached to base 10. Pedestal 58 and guidebore 56 are spaced apart from mandrel 12 and interposed therebetween isa wire cutter, comprising a blade 60 pivotably mounted as by bolt 62 onpedestal 58 and arranged so that depression of the handle 64 thereofwill cause blade 60 to shear a wire emerging from the mandrel side ofguide bore 56.

When shaft 44 is rotated to be in unlocked position, that is, when pinbolt 50 is at the juncture of the legs of slot 48, coil cover guide 4%will also be rotated so that it now overlays the top of mandrel 12.Sliding shaft 44 outwardly with pin bolt 56 now at the end of thelongitudinal arm of slot 48, as in FIG. 4, face 54 and cover guide 49will be moved away from the end of mandrel 12, and the side of slot 26will be open.

In operation of the device of this invention, thumb wheel 52 is firstpushed in and then rotated to the position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Thiscloses the open side of slot 26 and locates cover guide 49 overlayingmandrel 12 on its side remote from the guide bore 56. At the same timespring 28 will urge follower 30 toward the slotted end of mandrel 12 andthe reduced diameter end portion 36 will lie between mandrel 12 andcover guide 49. Hand wheel 20 is rotated until the end of bolt 42 isseated in the indentation of member 40 and an open end of slot 26 willnow be facing or pointing toward guide bore 56.

The end of a length of wire to be coiled as at 66, is threaded throughguide bore 56 and into slot 26. Handle 38 is then rotated, to form acoil on mandrel 12 as is V 3 termined number of coil turns have beenwound on mandrel l2, cutter blade handle 64 is depressed thus cuttingthe wire at its point of emergence from guide bore 56. Rotation ofhandle 38 is continued until all the wire cut off has been coiled.

It will be apparent that as the wire coil is formed on mandrel 12 itpushes back follower 30 against spring 28, the reduced diameter portion36 being gradually moved out of the space between cover guide 4% andmandrel 12, giving way to the wire coil being formed there. After thecoil is fully wound, thumb wheel 52, is rotated and moved outwardly sothat pin bolt 5a is in the position in slot 48 shown in FIG. 4. Coverguide 49 will have been rotated so that as to be aligned with the top ofmandrel 12 and then moved away from its position overlaying the coil inmandrel 12. At the same time the tension in spring 28 results in the endof follower 30 pushing the wire coil completely off the end of mandrel12 and it falls free as at 68. It will be appreciated that when the endface 54 of shaft 44 is moved away from the end of mandrel 12 it opensthe side of slot 26 thus permitting the wire end originally placed thereto be readily removed by follower 3t? pushing the whole coil off the endof mandrel 12. The rotation of cover guide 49 to a top position alsoallows the finished coil to fall freely when released from the mandrel12.

The operation described above may be repeated to wind another coil andrapid production may be obtained with little effort.

The device of this invention is rapid and eificient. The uniqueorganization wherein the follower pushes finished coils off the mandrelso that they fall free, results in high production rates. It has beenfound that a man winding coils of five inch lengths of platinum wire tobe used for vacuum fusion analysis of metals can produce, using a deviceaccording to this invention, at a rate of over 400 coils per hour.

The click stop on the hand wheel serves a dual purpose. It indicates therotary position of the mandrel and sets the mandrel with the slottherein in a position to receive the wire end, and also provides anaudible indication of revolutions of the mandrel. The length of wirerequired to fill the slot length and to wind up on the mandrel duringthe initial turn may readily be determined by trial, and then eachadditional revolution will wind the length of wire determined by thecircumference of the mandrel. After a number of counted revolutions thewire is cut and the length of wire remaining yet to be wound will be aconstant length, namely the distance between the mandrel contact pointand the cutter blade edge. Thus it is simple to to produce uniform coilsof a predetermined length of wire. For example, the coils referred to inthe paragraph above were made by inserting the end of the wire fully inthe mandrel slot, turning the hand wheel for five revolutions asindicated by five audible click-stop clicks, cutting the wire and finishwinding the coil. A number of the coils produced were weighed todetermine uniformity which was found to be within plus or minus 0.2%;this was adequate for the analytical purpose for which they were made.It will be apparent that any predetermined length of coil may be wounddepending on the hand wheel revolutions and arrangement of the spacedistance between the guiding bore and the mandrel.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for winding a coil of wire comprising; a base, a mandrelrotatably mounted on said base and having a slot in one end thereofadapted to receive the end of a length of wire to be wound, means forrotating said mandrel, a follower slidably mounted on said mandrel andbiased by spring means toward the said one end of said mandrel, a shaftslidably and rotatably mounted on said base and having an end faceadapted to be locked against the said one end of said mandrel thereby toclose the open side of the slot in the end thereof, wire guide meansmounted on said base spaced apart from said mandrel and coil cover guidemeans fixedly attached to the end of said shaft and projecting therefromover the side, remote from said wire guide means, of a portion of thesaid one end of said mandrel when said shaft end face is locked againstthe said one end of said mandrel.

2. Apparatus for winding a coil of wire comprising; a base, a mandrelrotatably mounted on said base and having a slot in one end thereofadapted to receive the end of a length of wire to be wound, a hand wheelfor rotating said mandrel fixedly attached to the other end thereof, afollower slidably mounted on said mandrel and biased by spring meanstoward the said one end of said mandrel, a shaft slidably and rotatablymounted on said base and having an end face adapted to be locked againstthe said one end of said mandrel thereby to close the open side of theslot in the end thereof, wire guide means mounted on said base spacedapart from said mandrel, and coil cover guide means fixedly attached tothe end of said shaft and projecting therefrom over the side, remotefrom said wire guide means, of a portion of the said one end of saidmandrel when said shaft end face is locked against the said one end ofsaid mandrel.

3. Apparatus for winding a coil of wire comprising; a base, a mandrelrotatably mounted on said base and having a slot in one end thereofadapted to receive the end of a length of wire to be wound, a hand wheelfor rotating said mandrel fixedly attached to the other end thereof,means on said hand wheel for indicating the rotary position of saidmandrel, a follower slidably mounted on said mandrel and biased byspring means toward the said one end of said mandrel, a shaft slidablyand rotatably mounted on said base and having an end face adapted to belocked against the said one end of said mandrel thereby to close theopen side of the slot in the end thereof, wire guide means mounted onsaid base spaced apart from said mandrel, and coil cover guide meansfixedly attached to the end of said shaft and projecting therefrom overthe side, remote from said wire guide means, of a portion of the saidone end of said mandrel when said shaft end face is locked against thesaid one end of said mandrel.

4. Apparatus for winding a coil of wire comprising; a base, a mandrelrotatably mounted on said base and having a slot in one end thereofadapted to receive the end of a length of wire to be wound, a hand wheelfor rotating said mandrel fixedly attached to the other end thereof, afollower slidably mounted on said mandrel and biased by spring meanstoward the said one end of said mandrel, a shaft slidably and rotatablymounted on said base and having an end face adapted to be locked againstthe said one end of said mandrel thereby to close the open side of theslot in the end thereof, wire guide means mounted on said base spacedapart from said mandrel, a click-stop on said hand Wheel indicating therotary position of said mandrel when the slot in the end thereof pointstowards said wire guide means, and coil cover guide means fixedlyattached to the end of said shaft and projecting therefrom over theside, remote from said wire guide means, of a portion of the said oneend of said mandrel when said shaft end face is locked against the saidone end of said mandrel.

5. Apparatus for winding a coil of wire comprising; a base, a mandrelrotatably mounted on said base and having a slot in one end thereofadapted to receive the end of a length of wire to be wound, means forrotating said mandrel, a follower slidably mounted on said mandrel andbiased by spring means toward the said one end of said mandrel, a shaftslidably and rotatably mounted on said base and having an end faceadapted to be locked against the said one end of said mandrel thereby toclose the open side of the slot in the end thereof, wire guide meansmounted on said base spaced apart from said mandrel, and coil coverguide means fixedly attached to the end of said shaft and projectingtherefrom over the side, re-

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS583,218 Wagener May 25, 1897 6 Nunarnaker Nov. 10, 1931 Sleeper Sept.11, 1934 Stussi May 22, 1951 Johnson et a1 Sept. 1, 1953 Kirkwo-od Oct.15, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS Germany July 15, 1938 Great Britain Sept. 17,1952

1. APPARATUS FOR WINDING A COIL OF WIRE COMPRISING; A BASE, A MANDRELROTATABLY MOUNTED ON SAID BASE AND HAVING A SLOT IN ONE END THEREOFADAPTED TO RECEIVE THE END OF A LENGTH OF WIRE TO BE WOUND, MEANS FORROTATING SAID MANDREL, AND FOLLOWER SLIDABLY MOUNTED ON SAID MANDREL ANDBIASED BY SPRING MEANS TOWARD THE SAID ONE END OF SAID MANDREL, A SHAFTSLIDABLY AND ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON SAID BASE AND HAVING AN END FACEADAPTED TO BE LOCKED AGAINST THE SAID ONE END OF SAID MANDREL THEREBY TOCLOSE THE OPEN SIDE OF THE SLOT IN THE END THEREOF, WIRE GUIDE MEANSMOUNTED ON SAID BASE SPACED APART FROM SAID MANDREL, AND COIL COVERGUIDE MEANS FIXEDLY ATTACHED TO THE END OF SAID SHAFT AND PROJECTINGTHEREFROM OVER THE SIDE, REMOTE FROM SAID WIRE GUIDE MEANS, OF A PORTIONOF THE SAID ONE END OF SAID MANDREL WHEN SAID SHAFT END FACE IS LOCKEDAGAINST THE SAID ONE END OF SAID MANDREL.